IBM has launched two new resources on its alphaWorks Web site designed to provide quick and easy access to data management technologies and emerging topics that will help developers effectively address future IT trends and key customer demands for more efficient, adaptive and intelligent software. IBM has also chosen Endeca's Guided Navigation for the DB2 search software.

The first resource for alphaWorks is a dedicated Data Management Zone, which is intended to provide developers with a broad spectrum of tools that span such topics as data mining, analysis, integration, transfer, and retention. Early adopters visiting the zone have an opportunity to learn more about data management technologies coming out of IBM's research and development labs that will help create software solutions for establishing relationships and identifying patterns in data; applying statistical and logical techniques for describing, summarizing and comparing data; creating larger and comprehensive bodies of knowledge through data integration and transferring, preserving and storing data. The Data Management Zone currently features 20 technologies that have already been launched this year, as well as two new tools: the Digital Asset Preservation Tool that provides long-term access to JPEG and GIF87a files; and the Text User Interface for DB2 Universal Database Administration that provides database maintenance and access to critical system information.

The second resource available for developers is an Emerging Topics section, which spotlights a unique theme and collection of related tools on a quarterly basis in an effort to build awareness and understanding about an important industry topic. For the remainder of the quarter in 2004, the section is featuring information on semantics and unstructured information management. The IBM alphaWorks Emerging Topics site features five new tools: the Integrated Ontology Development Toolkit for storage, manipulation, query, and inference of ontologies and corresponding instances; the Ontology Management System for loading ontologies from files and via the Internet and for locally creating, modifying, querying, and storing ontologies; the Ontology-based Web Services for Business Integration for the industrial sector that shows service discovery, composition, and business process transformation; the Emerging Technologies Toolkit featuring Semantic Web Services; and the Agent Building and Learning Environment for creating intelligent agents using machine learning and reasoning.